Armada’s Guide to Peach vs Sheik

Armada’s Guide to Peach vs Sheik

Introduction and Differences of PAL/NTSC

This match-up guide will explain Peach vs Sheik works at top level play. The match-up varies depending on which version that you’re playing on. In NTSC, Sheik’s down-throw has a guaranteed follow up with fair/uair. In PAL, Sheik has to tech chase at lower percentages if the Peach DI’s correctly and, at higher percents, Sheik cannot follow up after a grab; She can only establish stage control. Sheik’s u-air also kills at lower percentages in NTSC. Everything else in the matchup plays roughly the same regardless of version.

Common mistakes from Peach Players

1. Down-smashing on shield after a float cancel (FC) forward air (f-air)

This is a very common mistake for Peach mains in general. However, this becomes more of a problem against Sheik because of her great shield. The down-smash has a very slim chance of poking even if Sheik’s shield is small. If Sheik shield’s the down-smash, she can wavedash out of shield into a grab, which can lead to a good followup or a kill.

2. Playing too aggressive!

Although Sheik has needles and a great ledge game, it is important to keep your patience. Peach has an outstanding punish game on Sheik, but openings rarely come from playing aggressively. The best move for Peach to aggressively approach with is dash attack. However, Sheik players love to shield in this matchup and will be ready to shield grab these approaches. It’s also hard to poke Sheik directly, which means you have to play very careful with your dash attacks against a grounded Sheik, ESPECIALLY if you play NTSC.

3: Staying in shield too long!

Sheik’s grab game is amazing. Staying in shield can be tempting, but makes you a sitting duck to grabs.

What should Peach be doing instead?

1. Use more mix-ups on Sheik’s shield with grabs grabs after FC f-air

As mentioned above, FC-Fair into down-smash will not shield-poke Sheik often. Most of the time, Sheik players will spam shield because most Peach players love to spam jab or down-smash. Peach’s f-air has huge frame advantage on shield, meaning that you will have time to grab Sheik, unless she has insane reactions. FC f-air into grab isn’t something you can do all of the time, but it’s a great mix-up tool to use on shield-spammers. Sheik’s counter-play is to buffer roll, so also pay attention to catching this if the Sheik is mixing things up as well.

2. Mix up between aggressive and defensive play

Peach has several great tools to punish Sheik, but I want to point out some things to keep in mind so that you aren’t too predictable and easy to punish.

Dash Attack

It has tons of post-lag. Since Peach has poor ground speed, use dash attack at close range when your opponent can’t react to it. As a mix-up, also incorporate grabs if you’re running towards your opponent. The dash attack and run animations are similar, so it’s hard to tell for Sheik to prepare defensively for everything.

If Sheik is coming from above with a f-air, use a dash attack to intercept her. Take advantage of the fact that she can’t grab you if she’s in the air

Down-Tilt

D-tilt is an amazing tool to punish Sheiks who use aggressive aerials against you. Sheik has awful aerial mobility and her f-air doesn’t have too much horizontal range. If you see a f-air coming, wavedash backwards into a down-tilt. The down-tilt will cause Sheik to be in stun for an easy followup.

Back-Airs

B-Air has a very fast and huge hitbox. Use it to protect yourself if Sheik tries to approach you. It’s a great tool to protect against Sheik’s grabs.

Beating out Sheik’s approaches

If Sheik….

Attempts a grab

A float cancel n-air out of shield can beat a running raw grab from Sheik

Goes for early, aggressive f-air

Wave-dash backwards into a down-tilt

Delayed Fair or Tomahawk Grab

Use a preemptive n-air to stuff these

Edgeguarding Sheik

Sheik’s recovery is very limited and I want to discuss some of its biggest weaknesses

Sheik has a very long window in which you can hit her during the up+b animation. Peaches need to exploit this with b-air. B-air is a quick and long-lasting move that can hit Shiek during her recovery.

You can force Sheik to use up+b easily and covering her options isn’t difficult. Sheik can do the following things

Up+B onto the stage

(If Sheik is at high %). Use reverse n-air

(If Sheik is at low %). Use d-tilt to combo. D-tilt –> u-air also works very well to guarantee a kill in many cases, regardless of how the Sheik DI’s

Up+B towards the ledge

Walk-up onto the stage from the ledge. If you have the right timing, she won’t be able to grab the ledge.

Up+B diagonally upwards to fall onto the ledge

Sheik players will try to trick you to roll onto the stage. You can simply walk up onto the stage and then re-grab the ledge as she’s falling down.

Turnips

If Sheik is recovering from far away, turnips are a great tool. Practice your aim to hit Sheik.

Other advice

The only time you really should roll from the ledge is when you know Sheik can’t possibly make it back onto the stage.

In this example below, I use turnips to push the Sheik into recovering a certain way, followed by reverse-nair to get Sheik off stage. Then, I use d-tilt into u-air to finish her off:

Recovering against Sheik

Be careful if you challenge Sheik in the air. She can retreat since she has the entire stage and her bair has a ton of range. I would not recomend trying to attack her often in those cases. Going high or going low are okay options. If you go high, your goal is to trick Sheik to jump, so that she loses her mobility and range. If you go low and end up grabbing the ledge, keep your patience. The situation is not as bad as it is against Marth.

Other Notes

Sheiks likes to throw needles from platforms, so try to keep within a close range. If you can catch her during lag, try to sneak underneath her and punish with an u-air. The u-air leads into huge combos. Sheik has a difficult time coming from above because of Peach’s huge hitboxes that can beat out her aerials.

On platforms, Sheiks also love to fall and approach with f-air. As discussed previously, wavedash backwards into d-tilt is an amazing counter to this.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

I am a Melee analyst, journalist, and commentator. I love to write narratives about players and deep analysis of individual matches and rivalries. Creator of the "Zero2Hero" series for Melee to train new players and a regular on the Melee It On Me Podcast